Several of these mustard bottles were discovered near the ship's galley, and one was found in the sediment near the ship. Starting in 1818 each sailor was allowed to buy two pounds of mustard and one quarter pound of pepper from the purser each year.

The first battle between ironclads was sensational news. On March 22, 1862, Scientific American not only devoted several pages to the Battle of Hampton Roads, but also described the construction of both ships and provided an editorial on Monitor's success.